


Pilot's Eye View

by obfonteri (aspiringenjolras)



Series: The First Times Universe [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Backstory, Friendship, Gen, Marooned, Ravager Life, Rescue Missions, background character development, i have no idea how to tag this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 06:18:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14909960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aspiringenjolras/pseuds/obfonteri
Summary: When you're stranded on an asteroid by your only friends, who comes to your rescue? The Ravagers! Yes, for real. No, Vorker can't believe it either.For Ravager Week 2018.





	Pilot's Eye View

**Author's Note:**

> Day two of Ravager Week is for the background characters, so I wanted to write about Vorker who is my new favorite. This will eventually be a multichapter, but this chapter focuses on backstory and stuff. Enjoy!

Vorker was beginning to think no one was coming for him. He had been stuck on this asteroid ever since his old crew had marooned him there. He hadn’t even done anything _wrong_ , sure he wasn’t exactly pulling his weight but it wasn’t his fault he’d been laid up for weeks. He’d been stabbed in the eye for stars sake, and it wasn’t as if he could just go to a clinic on Xandar. He’d be arrested before even seeing a doctor. But with an infection and only one good eye, he wasn’t of any use to them anymore— he was just another mouth to feed, a liability. And he had slowed them down in their last fast escape, causing Dovan to be caught, so they decided to not keep him around anymore. _Every man for themselves_ , Kylyan had said.

Some kind of friends they were.

So they dumped him on the nearest asteroid with only a duffel bag of food and basic supplies, and left. He sent out constant comm signals to ships in the area— signals he was certain his old crew could hear as they flew away. But no one answered. It was a fairly dead area as far as travel paths went, and that meant it could be weeks or months before anyone found him. Once his food ran out, he’d be dead— if the infection in his eye didn’t kill him first.

But one evening, he was dozing after sending out the same call he sent every night, when he heard static and crackled voices on the other end of the line.

_“Hey— no, stop, I’m talking, shut_ up _, dumbass—”_

_“Who’re you calling dumbass, dumbass?”_

_“Give me the fucking comm you bastards.”_

_Click._

_“Is anyone there? Can ya hear me?”_

Vorker sat up groggily and reached for his comm. “Yes! Yes, I’m here—”

_“This is the Ravager ship_ Eclector _, ya sent a distress signal?”_

Vorker mouthed silent words of thanks up at the stars. “Y-yes, I did, please, help, I’ve been stranded on—”

_“Transmit your coordinates, we’re our way to your location.”_

_Click._

Vorker leaned back against a rock and let out a breath, closing his eyes. It was happening. Someone was finally coming. He quickly sent his coordinates and started gathering up his small camp, and everything fit back into his bag. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before they arrived, but he wanted to be ready. Somewhere in his bag was the bandana he’d been using as an eyepatch to cover the wound— it was uncomfortable, so he hadn’t been wearing it out on his own. But he was going to see another person for the first time in… however long, and he wanted to be somewhat presentable. It was pretty much the only thing about him that was, however. His hair was halfway down his back by now; he hadn’t been able to cut it since before the accident, and it was already long to begin with. He was dirty and smelly and bruised, his clothes were ripped and his boots had holes in them. But hey, at least whatever unfortunate sod was sent to pick him up wouldn’t have to see a bloody eye socket!

In reality, it had only been a few hours, but it felt like days before he saw a ship approaching in the distance. He jumped up and down and waved, though he knew they wouldn’t notice. They would either see him, or not. And luckily, the ship angled down and slowed as it came in to land unsteadily on the surface. Vorker watched as a figure descended from the ship and started picking his way across the rocks. The relief of seeing another person was enough to propel him forward into a run. “Hey!” he called out, waving wildly. “Over here!” As he neared the man, his foot caught in a dip in the ground sending him flying forward on his face. Sprawled on the ground, he saw boots approaching and he pushed himself up, standing shakily and ending up face to face with the Ravager.

“Hey, hey man, easy, take it easy.” The man reached out steadied him, putting a hand on Vorker’s shoulder. His single eye widened and he chewed his lip nervously. He had heard about the Ravagers of course, everyone in his circles had. But he had never thought he’d meet one— especially not in a situation like this. He vaguely recognized the voice from the comm, and the man seemed friendly enough, so Vorker gave him a nod and a hesitant smile.

“Thanks,” he mumbled. “I’m Vorker.”

The Ravager grinned. “Kraglin. First mate o’ the _Eclector_.” He beat his chest twice, and Vorker did the same, figuring it was some sort of greeting, or respectful gesture. “So ya need a ride off this dumb asteroid?”

Vorker sighed with relief. He had been beginning to wonder if the pirates were actually going to help him or not. “Stars yes,” he said. “If you don’t mind.”

Kraglin laughed, and Vorker wondered what he’d said that was funny. But the man just gestured for him to follow, so Vorker picked up his duffel bag and followed Kraglin to the ship. He had a million questions running through his head, but he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to be a bother. Kraglin helped him up into the ship, and was surprised to see there was no one else there.

“Your Captain sent his first mate alone to get me?” he blurted out, before slapping a hand over his mouth. “I mean— fuck, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that?” Embarrassed, he sat in one of the empty chairs as Kraglin went to the pilot’s seat.

But the first mate only shrugged, and revved up the ship. “It’s fine,” he said with a shrug. “Someone had to come get ya, and assigning someone else to do it woulda just taken too long. Besides, this field is pretty dense. Takes someone with skill to navigate through here.” The ship lifted off. “So, yer stuck with me. We’re a few hours travel from the _Eclector_ , we’ll rendezvous at a checkpoint a short ways from here.”

Vorker just nodded in understanding, not wanting to bother Kraglin as he flew. But the Ravager seemed to have no problem keeping up discussion, as he kept chattering away at Vorker as he weaved through asteroids. “So, how’d ya end up there anyway? Unlucky bastard, ain’t ya?”

Vorker shrugged. “My crew abandoned me after this happened and I couldn’t contribute to anything anymore.” He lifted up the bandana to show his eye. He honestly wasn’t even sure how bad it was, but Kraglin glanced at it and cringed, then swerved quickly to avoid hitting some debris.

“Damn, I’m sorry. Looks like it hurts. What kinda crew? Ravagers?”

“Oh no. Just some friends I’ve been travelling with for years. Or, I thought they were my friends. I guess not.” Vorker shrugged and replaced the bandana.

Kraglin glanced over and offered him a sympathetic smile. “Assholes,” he said with a laugh. “Well don’t worry, we can have one of our medics take a look at that, clean it up for ya before we send ya on yer way. Anywhere in particular we can drop ya off after?”

Vorker considered that for a minute. “I dunno. I’m not even sure how long I’ve been there… or how close we are to anything… I really have nowhere to go, and I’m pretty useless like this.” He sighed. “I was the main pilot, but I can’t fly safely with just one working eye. Won’t even be able to get around on my own.”

Kraglin hummed under his breath. “Well, we can probably get ya scrubbing decks if that’s something ya’d want. Ain’t exactly fun and not as glamorous as flying, but it’ll earn ya a place on the ship if ya wanna stick around with us.”

Surprised, Vorker sat up straighter. “Really? I mean… that’s nice of you, but isn’t that up to your Captain?”

Kraglin snorted. “Yondu— the Cap’n lets me make these kinda decisions. It ain’t really his thing, recruitment and stuff. He’s more, shout, yell, give orders, skewer people with arrows. That sort of thing.” The man laughed, and Vorker could hear a certain fondness in his voice under the teasing words. Or at least, that’s what he figured it had to be, for a first mate to be poking fun at his superior officer. But Kraglin didn’t elaborate, and Vorker didn’t press. “You know,” Kraglin said thoughtfully, “If ya wanna fly, that’s fine with me. I can be the other half of yer vision, but it’s clear skies from here on out, so ya shouldn’t have any trouble either way.”

Vorker was stunned. The surprises just kept coming. “I, um…” he cleared his throat. “That’s really nice, but I haven’t flown in months, and I wouldn’t want to do anything dangerous. Besides, aren’t you even a little suspicious of a strange guy you just met flying your ship? I mean, I’m not gonna do anything to you, obviously, but…”

Kraglin grinned. “Vorker, my friend, dangerous is the name of the game. That’s why I love flying. Besides, ya’d be doing me a favor. I haven’t had a break in hours except when I grabbed ya. My arms are tired. It’ll be fine, these M-ships have dual piloting systems so I can take over instantly if ya start to put us on a crash course.”

Vorker laughed and shrugged. “Yeah, alright,” he said, scooting forward toward the controls. “Good for me to take over?” Kraglin gave him a thumbs up and he pulled the shift lever. Immediately, he felt the power of the ship as it surged forward, and he let out a startled yelp. But he quickly fell into a rhythm and ease of control, cruising across the sky.

“I’m transferring the nav path to yer display panel,” Kraglin said, tapping on his screen. A chart popped up on Vorker’s, and he flicked through it with one hand, keeping the other on the helm. It was nice, getting to fly again, and even nicer that Kraglin trusted him. His crewmates (he didn’t even want to call them friends anymore) hadn’t even trusted him, and they’d known him for years. He’d only known the guy for an hour or so, and he was already acting like a better friend. Not that he _was_ a friend, but still.

Once it was clear that Vorker was comfortable and settled into flight, Kraglin started up conversation yet again. “So what happened there?” he asked, gesturing to the bandana.

“Got into a tussle at a bar, woman stabbed me with a steak knife because that’s a normal reaction to someone accidentally spilling your drink.” He snorted. “She probably thought I did it on purpose, to be fair.”

Kraglin laughed. “Sounds like something a Ravager would do,” he said. “Ya sure she wasn’t?”

Vorker shook his head. “I mean, maybe? I didn’t see a flame on her, she wasn’t wearing your colors, but it could’ve been. It was a pretty unsavory place, lots of those types around there.”

Kraglin crossed his arms. “What’re ya saying about us Ravagers?” Vorker opened his mouth to apologize, but the man waved it off with a grin. “Kidding, we’s definitely all unsavory types. At least that’s the impression we give off, or so I’ve been told by my old employers.”

Vorker glanced over at him. “Old employers?”

“Oh yeah,” Kraglin said. “I was a Nova Corps officer before this.” He rolled his eyes. “I didn’t exactly pick this. I got fired over a misunderstanding, and the Ravager life quite literally picked me.” A smile crept over his face. “But I’m much happier, ya know. Been there for years now, but it never gets old. Call me sentimental, but I love the life.”

Vorker smiled slightly too. “It sounds nice, having a big crew for support, folks who’ve got yer back.”

“Oh yeah,” Kraglin agreed. “We take care of our own, that’s for sure. We’ve all followed Yondu— our Cap’n— through hell and back, basically. Because we’s each other’s only family. We do what we gotta do.” He stood and walked over to stand behind Vorker, patting him on the shoulder. “Yer gonna be in good hands if ya decide to stay with us.” He pointed out the screen ahead of them, where a massive ship loomed into view. Vorker’s eye widened. “And look,” Kraglin said. “We’s here.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea when I'll be able to update, but there will be one. This is a companion piece that fits into my First Times universe, for anyone reading that currently. It's set ahead of where the story currently is by about a year or two, so eventually that fic will catch up to this and you'll see these events from Kraglin's POV.
> 
> Anyway, let me know what you thought, and come say hi on


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